Florence (Hanlon) Hayes was born in Falls Village, Connecticut on November 21, 1929 to Ruth (Cleaveland) and Joseph D. Hanlon. She grew up on their family dairy farm with four siblings and earned her earliest education at the local one-room schoolhouse, which was within walking distance.  Her fondest childhood memories included summer visits to the local swimming hole and exploration of the nearby woodlands and fields, which instilled in her a love of the natural landscape and the poetry and quiet beauty of the world around her.

Florence earned a Bachelor's Degree in 1951 from St Joseph College in West Hartford, following which she taught home economics at the junior high level in the Wethersfield school system for several years. In 1956 she earned her Master's degree in Education from the University of Connecticut, after which she took a position as a field demonstration agent for the Connecticut Cooperative Extension Service, until her marriage to John Hayes, of Redding, in 1964.  In the early 1980s she took a position with the retired senior program at the American Red Cross in Danbury, followed by a position with the Town of Brookfield as coordinator of the senior program for the region.  In 1985 she accepted a teaching position with Stamford public school system, teaching home economics until her retirement in 1990.

Florence was a longtime parishioner at St Patrick Church in Redding, where she played an active role in ministries for the community, including volunteer work for the Dorothy Day Hospitality House in Danbury and delivering local meals for the Meals on Wheels program.  In 2009 she received the Saint Augustine Medal of Service, along with her husband, John, from the Reverend William Lori, Bishop of Bridgeport, for her tireless work on behalf of others without desire for recognition.

Those who knew and loved her cherished the beautiful twinkle in her eye, her optimism, and her readiness for an adventure on very short, if any, notice.    Among the places that she loved most, aside from her home on Redding Ridge, were the Nauset Light and Coast Guard beaches on the Cape Cod National Seashore and the Green Mountains of Vermont, particularly if it included a pair of skis.

Florence was preceded in death by her husband, John, and her son, Brian. She is survived by her daughters Mary Kate Hayes of Redding and Falls Village, Connecticut and Sheila (Hayes) Goffe of Smithfield, North Carolina, her grandson, Patrick Hayes of Dania Beach, Florida, her brother John F. Hanlon of North Canaan, Connecticut, and many nieces and nephews.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Patrick Church, Redding on Friday January 9 at 11:00 am. Burial will follow at St Mary Cemetery, Bethel. The family will receive friends at the Bouton Funeral Home, 31 West Church Street, Wilton, on Thursday from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Contributions may be made, In lieu of flowers, to St. Patrick Church, Redding or to the Dorothy Day Hospitality House